PayPal's mobile app has enjoyed more downloads and usage since it was redesigned thanks in large part to its Order Ahead feature.

This tool, which originally launched in 2014, helps users find local restaurants and other food establishments. When it first debuted, the feature did not sort participating restaurants by proximity, but the updated app lets users quickly find food nearby.

Since the update in February, PayPal reports that Order Ahead transactions have risen by one-third compared to the previous month. In the first week after the redesign, the app pulled in 15 unique users every second, and 12% more people downloaded the app in that week compared to the prior week.

PayPal has been focusing on linking users with local businesses, which keeps the brand relevant to merchants. Prior to the update, consumers were likely more engaged in PayPal's peer-to-peer payments or checkout option on the websites of participating retailers. But the discovery aspect of PayPal's app could spur users to engage with the app more frequently.

PayPal also has an advantage because it stores user information, such as payment and shipping addresses, which means that users would be more likely to order ahead because they don't need to re-enter information each time.

Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) — also known as fast-casual restaurants — such as Starbucks have been turning to mobile order-ahead apps to extract higher sales, intensify customer loyalty, and heighten foot traffic.

Leading QSRs in the U.S. are beginning to adopt these platforms at an accelerated pace and are benefiting from them. Taco Bell sees 30% higher average order values on mobile compared to in-store, and Starbucks' Mobile Order & Pay already represents 10% of total transactions at high-volume stores, directly contributing to increased company sales.

Mobile order-ahead is still in its early days, but will be a $38 billion industry by 2020, accounting for 10.7% of total QSR industry sales. This will be driven by full adoption among the top QSRs in the US, the growth of mobile commerce, QSR adoption through aggregators like Grubhub, loyalty programs, higher average order values, and new buy buttons.

Evan Bakker, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed Mobile Order-Ahead Report that profiles the companies that have proved the mobile order-ahead concept and analyzes the trends contributing to this new industry's growth.

Mobile order-ahead will ultimately have an additive effect on the QSR industry. Mobile ordering platforms have been proven to intensify customer loyalty, increase purchase frequency, and lift average ticket sizes through order customization and easier checkout options. This means that mobile ordering is not a simple substitution for in-store purchasing, but a channel that can enhance the lifetime value of QSR customers. This makes mobile order-ahead a critical channel contributing to the growth of the QSR industry.

Alternative commerce solutions will help propel mobile ordering. Aggregators like Grubhub will onboard smaller fast-casual restaurants into the mobile ecosystem by offering them an existing app to integrate into, lowering the upfront costs of creating a mobile channel of their own. And in-store self-service kiosks will help popularize remote ordering and accustom users to less traditional forms of payment that don't require a cash register.

In full, the report:

Forecasts the growth of the mobile order-ahead industry in the US from 2015 to 2020, including its share of total QSR sales.

Profiles brands that are leading the migration to mobile ordering.

Examines the alternative commerce solutions that could help popularize mobile order-ahead.

Explains the risks and drawbacks to launching a mobile commerce platform.

Assesses the ways both large and small brands can create a mobile order-ahead platform.

Determines which types of fast-casual chains are in the best position to benefit from mobile order-ahead.

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